FLINT TOWNSHIP, MI - Six apartments were destroyed, but no one was injured during a fire that scorched a 24-unit building early Sunday morning at Clover Tree Apartments.

Flint Township Fire Chief John Ringwelski said three fires – one on the second floor and two on third floor – broke out around 1 a.m., with several residents needing help to escape the flames.

“We had several residents, two on one balcony and three on another, that had to be rescued with heavy smoke coming down on top of them,” he said, as firefighters used several ladders and hose lines to gain entry into the building.

“It was moving through the walls, floors and ceilings, and the spaces in between floors,” said Ringwelski. “The fire was contained to those three units.”

“They performed a lot of help,” said Ringwelski of mutual aid from the Flint Fire Department. “We didn’t have the equipment to reach the third level. They were able to do some heavy extinguishment (at the roof level). They were a big help for us.”

“We could have easily had people severely injured in this one, but we were able to get everyone out safe,” Ringwelski said.

He noted Flint Township police, Genesee County paramedics and several ambulance companies also took part, in helping lay hundreds of feet of hose.

“With the amount of lines we were starting to push, it was nice to establish that water supply,” said Ringwelski, which aided in avoiding any serious injuries to residents and firefighters.

The Salvation Army Canteens and American Red Cross also responded to offer displaced residents a place to stay and meals.

Residents were allowed to go inside their apartments and remove some personal belongings, Ringwelski said, and may return following an investigation of the scene.

Fires have taken place at Clover Tree in the past, said Ringwelski, with most of them resulting from a kitchen incident which he said are the leading cause of fires in the country.

“We haven’t been able to get in and look at it,” he said. “There has been no determination of anything (in regards to a cause).”